City of Darwin Libraries

18
Dec
2023

Darwin public library exterior

The image above was taken out the front of the Darwin Casuarina library. I visited there in August this year and spent the week with the wonderful staff who keep this and the other Darwin library branches operating and meeting the needs of their visitors so well. This was an interesting place to visit because they have a position that is filled by a Community Worker who is able to create and maintain partnerships between the library and vulnerable communities in Darwin. The person who was in this position at the time was doing an amazing job of organising community events that brought all sorts of people into the library, but was also the first point of call for staff when any issues developed due to anti-social behaviour in the library. I watched him de-escalate a volatile and violent situation between two people in the library one afternoon and was reminded of the effect these issues have on library staff, even when only observing them.

One great example of an activity organised by the library was part of a Homelessness LinkUp event:

Image of a poster advertising a Homelessness Event at the Darwin library

There were a lot of great activities going on that morning, but the most successful was the visit from the Births, Deaths and Marriages service who were printing out and laminating Certificates of Birth for people. It never occured to me before that people wouldn’t have access to their own birth certificates, but this is indeed a problem for many people. Without proof of identity, people are not able to claim social security and other entitlements, so this service was making a huge contribution to the wellbeing and care of many people.

Many libraries offer a place for a Justice of the Peace to deliver services a couple of times a week, and having Births, Deaths and Marriages offer services from the library seems like a great idea too.

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